pickier; pickiest
: very careful or too careful about choosing or accepting things : fussy, choosy
a picky eater
Because pen collectors are a picky lot, and some antiques dealers who are not in the pen business can overlook the details of condition, there is occasional friction.—
Bill Holland
Bill HollandWith rising ticket prices and new competition from cable TV, cost-conscious families may be pickier about the movies they choose to see.—David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
pickiness
noun
Taylor mocks Zavala for the size of his extended Mexican family, their endless chatter and the frequency of their quinceaneras. Zavala ribs Taylor for his white-person pickiness about artisanal coffee and marriage.
—Belinda Luscombe
Belinda Luscombe
Now jobless and forced to live with five housemates in San Jose, Calif., she comes away from every job interview discouraged by employers' pickiness.
—Daniel McGinn
Daniel McGinn
Examples of picky in a Sentence
a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish
she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish
Recent Examples on the Web
Nothing in the kitchen is more reliably frustrating than trying to feed a picky one.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
Water Quality While the water from your faucet is generally ok for most other houseplants, peace lilies are picky about their water.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Don’t bribe—empathize Bribing picky eaters with dessert is a common tactic parents use to get to the end of the meal.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 17 Oct. 2025
With everyone on your list in mind, this curation of the best little gift ideas includes items that everyone will enjoy, from your stylish partner and jet-setting best friend to the picky teens and tweens.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for picky
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
Water Quality While the water from your faucet is generally ok for most other houseplants, peace lilies are picky about their water.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Don’t bribe—empathize Bribing picky eaters with dessert is a common tactic parents use to get to the end of the meal.
—Taylor Grothe, Parents, 17 Oct. 2025
With everyone on your list in mind, this curation of the best little gift ideas includes items that everyone will enjoy, from your stylish partner and jet-setting best friend to the picky teens and tweens.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for picky
Cite this Entry
“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picky. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share